It was 1939. The Ministry of Information of the Government of the United Kingdom had created a series of posters to boost the morale of her people in the event of wartime disaster. From 1935-39 there had been three or four coups in Japan and the United States was gravely concerned for Americans who were living over there. From the early 1900’s, under the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, we have had a presence in the Pacific. Germany’s Adolf Hitler was pronounced to be the Fuhrer, the Supreme Leader of the German people. War was about to ensue and it was not just going to be between one nation against another. It was World War II and involved most of Europe, Russia, Japan and the United States.
And The Ministry of Information of the United Kingdom printed over 2,000,000 copies of this poster along with two other posters that were part of the set. The two other posters said, “Freedom Is In Peril. Defend It With All Your Might” and “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory.” The “Freedom” poster was printed 400,000 times while the “Courage” poster was printed 800,000. Some civil servant created the lot in order to encourage his people. The creator? No one knows who created these posters but it was an encouragement to the people of the United Kingdom all throughout World War II.
Today you can purchase coffee mugs, t-shirts, door mats and a slew of other products donning these infamous words.
Just the other day, I saw a young man wearing a t-shirt that used some of these words but changed a couple of the words. His shirt said, “Keep Calm and Trust God.” The shirt was light blue with white lettering. It still donned the crown that you see on this poster.
“In God We Trust” has been emblazoned on United States coins since 1864 and on paper currency since 1957. But it seems that we are living in a culture that is trying to dissuade us from the very things that are part of the fabric and founding of this great Nation. President Barack Obama delivered a speech on June 28, 2006 saying, “Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation – at least, not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.” The prepared statement said, “Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.”
Whether one believes that the President had a gaffe or truly believes that we are no longer a Christian Nation, the fact of the matter is that it appears that our great Nation is slipping away from the founding fathers Judeo-Christian beliefs. But what must we as Christians do? We need to “KEEP CALM and TRUST GOD!” As we study the Scriptures we find that He is the One who has brought us victory over sin and death. See what the Scriptures teach us:
For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, wil never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:5-11)
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts ont he imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)
Victory is ours because victory is His! KEEP CALM and TRUST GOD!
D.J. Gorena 